Earlier this week, Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated was released to the joy of many longtime fans of the cult-classic platformer. What players had to look forward to was a mostly unchanged game, but with the added benefits of enhanced graphics and a multiplayer mode.
Critically, the game has opened up to mixed reviews overall, with some praising THQ Nordic for building the game well from the ground up while others wish the company did more to bring this game into the new era of 3D platformers. What is there to love about this remake?
10 Love: Cut Content
When a remake of a great game is announced, fans always look to all the content that was cut and didn't make the original. THQ Nordic didn't shy away from the idea when the game was first revealed, and the evidence is mainly in Robo-Squidward, the main antagonist of the multiplayer mode that was not in the original.
Many recorded lines that were left on the cutting-room floor nearly two decades ago were also put into the remake, which may have only been noticed by the more hardcore fans.
9 Don't Love: Patrick's Dream Stays Cut
There was some cut content that didn't get included in the remake, with the most glaring omission being the more evolved version of Patrick's Dream.
In the original game, Patrick's Dream was going to be a level filled with platforms made of various food objects and a good amount of robots, but not much is known about what the final version of that would've looked like. Instead, players got Patrick in a darkened room who just hands Spongebob the Golden Spatula after one conversation, with no other challenge.
8 Love: Enhanced Fights
The game was dragged in the mud by reviewers for not improving a ton on the original gameplay, but THQ Nordic deserves credit for enhancing some of the critical fights within the game. Most notably is likely the first boss players encounter in King Jellyfish.
They made it so it was harder to hit the giant jellyfish as his tentacles remain electrified, and he would chase down the player a lot quicker as well. Another notable example is Mr. Krabs' dream, where it was harder to destroy the Duplicatotrons from the ground, forcing people into the combat.
7 Don't Love: Multiplayer
One of the new elements added to the remake to get people interested was a multiplayer mode. Players can play a plethora of different characters as they take on Robo-Squidward in a wave-based battle, working together to beat up as many robots as possible.
While the mode is chaotic and fun at times, the whole experience is not very deep and lacks the replay value that people would like to see in a co-op mode. It's not bad and is a nice accessory for the main campaign, but there are better multiplayer experiences out there.
6 Love: Character Interaction
Those who played the old game know that characters in conversations always had the same look to them as they talked to each other. This led to some hilarity as, for example, a character would scream and just look like they were just having a nice chat.
In Rehydrated, characters seem to have a whole lot more personality, even using props at times to further visualize their dialogue. It's hilarious seeing Spongebob's shock expression appear in the game, as well as Mermaidman running in place in pure fear.
5 Don't Love: Game Speed
One noticeable difference from one game to the other is the game speed. While it doesn't greatly hinder the experience, it does make those used to the old game feel a need to adjust. The character's move a little slower, character switching is not as fast and the cruise bubble reaction time to the controls is not what it was in the original game.
Couple that with the fact the framerate struggles in outdoor environments at times, and it makes what is supposed to be a remaster feel like a downgrade mechanically.
4 Love: Lively Environment
The original Battle For Bikini Bottom feels so stagnant compared to this version of the game. Evidence of this is greatly seen in Bikini Bottom itself as landmarks in the distance actually move and defeated robots blink and emit smoke on the ground.
In Jellyfish Fields, the structures are not as smoothed out, allowing for more random ledges to walk. Players can walk deep into Kelp Forest before hitting any sort of wall. It makes a game that was already filled with character come to life in a way that fans haven't seen before.
3 Don't Love: Goo Deaths
It may be an accidental change, but one glaring difference between the two versions is how unforgiving the game can be when a character goes into out-of-bounds territory. More specifically, the group needs to deal with either walking over or along the water (or goo, since they are all already in water) for a lot of the levels.
In the original game, if the playable character touches the goo, they would likely be bounced back immediately. In the remake, however, the character drowns almost immediately upon touching the area most of the time. This may be a bug, but it's a glaring problem.
2 Love: Improved Graphics
The biggest reason for this remake is probably the most impressive. The high-definition revamp of the classic is a huge success as almost every level looks like it has been brought forward at least 10 years. Levels of the past that looked rather bland, such as Rock Bottom and Kelp Forest, are beautiful in their own way in the remake.
The characters themselves look so much better too, with pieces of clothing having nice textures and the character models displaying more details. Despite many flaws with the game, THQ Nordic's main goal seems to have been met.
1 Don't Love: Load Times
This is the most frustrating out of all the flaws Rehydrated has, but it is far from the only game that has them. In the original, load times were nearly instantaneous. When the player dies, they instantly respawn. Transitioning between parts of the level did take a little bit of time, but was rather quick.
This is likely due to the HD graphics causing games to take longer to process, but the load times after every death and transition significantly contributed to the game's slow feel and may make many prefer to play the original.